Judge OKs awards up to $1000 each for Baton Rouge protesters

BATON ROUGE- A federal judge has approved a class-action settlement that awards up to $1,000 in cash to dozens of protesters arrested after a deadly police shooting in Louisiana.

U.S. District Judge John W. deGravelles ruled from the bench Friday after a court hearing.

Several lawsuits have accused law enforcement agencies in Baton Rouge of violating the constitutional rights of protesters arrested after the July 2016 shooting death of Alton Sterling, a 37-year-old black man.

Black Lives Matter movement leader DeRay Mckesson is among 69 arrested protesters eligible for cash payments ranging from $500 to $1,000 now that the judge has given the settlement his final approval.

Police arrested nearly 200 people at protests in Baton Rouge after a white police officer fatally shot Sterling during a struggle outside a convenience store.